You know that old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Well, I feel like that saying could easily apply to this recipe. I admit that the visual of the final dish may inspire you to jump to the next post, but please don't. What this recipe lacks in sexy photos, it majorly makes up for in flavor.
Our friend, Peter, spent the weekend in central Michigan and generously brought back a bag full of ears of farm-fresh sweet corn for us. They had just been picked the previous day, and looked absolutely amazing! Our goal was to do as little as possible to the corn to keep its integrity intact, so we decided to make homemade creamed corn.
This recipe might be a bit different than what you're used to as far as creamed corn goes... it certainly bears no resemblance to that stuff from a can! My recipe doesn't contain any flour or sugar; we rely on the natural sweetness of the corn for sugar, and the natural starches for thickening. So that really only leaves the corn itself, a large pat of butter, salt and pepper. Four ingredients are all you need to make this quintessential summery side dish!
The first step is to shuck the corn. This was fun, because we discovered some corn worms feasting inside, and it totally freaked my daughter out.
The next step is to grate the kernels off the cobs using a coarse grater. I used my Rosle grater because it's so sturdy, sharp and easy to use. When grating the corn, it's important to grate all the way down to the cob, releasing the milky-starchy juices that will help thicken the mixture. I did this step over a sheet tray, which worked really well to collect everything. Pro tip: wear an apron during this step, otherwise you'll have corn juices splattered on your shirt.
Place the grated corn in a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of butter, a pinch of salt and a fresh grinding of pepper.
Cook the corn mixture over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the juices have thickened, about 20 minutes. Check the seasoning, and adjust with additional salt and pepper to taste.
You can absolutely fold in fresh herbs and/or perhaps a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan, but you don't really need to because this recipe is so delicious as is.
We served our fresh creamed corn as a side dish with grilled pork chops, but it would go so well with just about anything: steak, chicken, fish and/or grilled veggies!
We're featuring this recipe in our Late Summer Harvest class, so come join us in September for an amazing culinary experience featuring almost everything that's in season.